8 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



'■4^.'.. ■■■t •> . ■,■ !;; '.'v^' ■'t '•/,'• >.■'■•- 

 JUNB 4, 1908. 



ruffled gladioli may be the result of sport 

 variation or due to high culture. This 

 may explain the appearance of some va- 

 rieties, but does not account for the new 

 strain reported by me, as with these, 

 and with all of my seedlings, I always 

 destroy their cormels until blooms have 

 shown, in order to avoid as much as pos- 

 sible their appearance in other mixtures. 

 By this method I am certain of their be- 

 ing original seedlings. 



At no time in the creation of this 

 new strain have I made use of any 

 high culture or forcing to produce the 

 object to be attained, as I was well 

 aware that flowers so produced are more 

 likely to rapidly deteriorate and be lost 

 under ordinary or poor culture. 



From the many complimentary letters 

 and inquiries which I have received since 

 the announcement of ruffled gladioli, I 

 feel that their introduction will be very 

 favorably received and highly appreciated 

 by all lovers of the new and beautiful 

 in the floral world. A. E. Kundebd. 



JOSEPH HEACOCK. 



When the market is in particularly bad 

 shape, and the buyers demand the most 

 unheard-of things, assuring you that your 

 competitors will do all and more than 

 they ask, and when you can 't begin to do 

 a tenth of these things and fill the 

 hungry mouths that must be filled; then 

 it is a pleasant thing to see someone 

 who has weathered the turbuJent busi- 

 ness sea and secured positive results. 

 In good, plain English, I mean that 

 when things worry most, then I like to 



take a good long walk over to Wyncote, 

 Pa., to see Joseph Heacock and his place. 



I like to do this for several reasons. 

 In the first place, a good walk has a 

 calming effect, and makes difficult ques- 

 tions seem easy. In the second place, 

 Mr. Heacock always has a cordial wel- 

 come ready, and should he chance to be 

 out, the place is there, a place of about 

 80,000 feet of glass that typifies sub- 

 stantial business results. When I look 

 at that place I feel that, though the 

 market prices fluctuate, there is one man 

 who believes that cut flowers can be 

 grown and sold profitably for many years 

 to come; when the plant market is dull, 

 that there is one man at least who be- 

 lieves it will revive, and that his efforts 

 to grow plants must not cease. 



I hope that the illustrations on the fol- 

 lowing pages may encourage some Ee- 

 viEW readers in the way that the actual 

 objects themselves have encouraged me. 

 The interior of the office, of which a view 

 is given, I have always thought one of 

 the prettiest bits of work to be found 

 among florists' business places. The 

 open fireplace appeals to me especially. 

 The shed, lately remodeled, is an excellent 

 example of the healthy conditions that 

 should prevail in our working quarters; 

 plenty of room, plenty of light, plenty 

 of air. The greenhouses are laid out 

 with the aim of securing the most light, 

 the greatest protection from the north 

 wind and the highest economy of space. 

 A pretty touch is shown in the third 

 picture, where Mr. Heacock may be seen 

 at his 100-foot hedge of Dorothy Per- 

 kins rose. Phil. 



CARRYING ROSE PLANTS OVER. 



Ripening the Wood* 



To carry a house of roses successfully 

 and profitably over a second season re- 

 quires a deal of careful preparation and 

 study. To make a success, we must be- 

 gin the preparations early. Where the 

 plants are in table benches, where the 

 root action, water supply, etc., can be 

 controlled and the plants ripened in a 

 week or so, there is no need to hurry at 

 this season, but where the plants are in 

 solid benches it is well to begin early, 

 as the work of ripening the wood re- 

 quires a longer period. 



Begin by gradually withholding water 

 from the roots. In fact, if the syringe 

 is kept going to keep down spider, that 

 is all the water they will require. Spider 

 must not be allowed to increase, as the 

 full complement of leaves is required to 



complete the ripening process and any 

 leaves allowed to become the prey of 

 spider are a dead loss to the plants. 



Air must be given freely, both night 

 and day, aa this is a great factor in 

 hastening the ripening. The soil in the 

 bench must not be allowed to become so 

 dry as to cause the young wood to wilt 

 or cause the plants to shed their leaves. 

 It requires from three weeks to a month 

 to complete the ripening process, even in 

 the brightest kind of weather. 



After the plants are ripe they should 

 be carefully pruned, removing all the 

 small and blind wood and cutting back 

 the stronger growths to three or four 

 eyes. Remove as much of the old soil 

 as can be safely done without injuring 

 the roots, and fill up with a good, rich 

 mulch, to which has been added a gen- 

 erous sprinkling of bone meal. Bibes. 



FROM POTS TO BENCH. 



I have my roses in 3-inch pots. They 



are well filled and ready for a shift. 



Will it be all right to set them in their 



permanent bed, and what distance apart? 



J. L. B. 



Stock in 3-inch pots, ready for a shift. 



should either be shifted or planted. 

 And, as this is the proper season for 

 planting, if everything is in order for 

 that operation the plants will do bet- 

 ter in the benches than in pots. 



The area which plants require de- 

 pends entirely on the varieties grown. 

 Brides, Golden Gate, Chatenay and va- 

 rieties of similar growth require from 

 144 to 200 superficial inches. Beauties 

 require more. Richmond can be well 

 grown on one foot of space. Eibbs. 



BREEDING WILD ROSES. 



[A paper by W. Van Fleet, Little Sliver, 

 N. J., read before the American Breeders' Asso- 

 ciation, continued from the Review of May 28.] 



R. laevigata can be induced to form 

 viable seeds with pollen of a considerable 

 number of species and varieties, but our 

 seedlings, even under careful green- 

 house treatment, have not reached the 

 blooming age, though many grow with 

 considerable vigor for a year or two. 

 R. Wichuraiana, pollinated with laevigata, 

 has given a hardy and beautiful climb- 

 ing rose with large, shining foliage, and 

 enormous semi-double white blooms, yel- 

 low in bud. It is apparently a variety 

 of much value. Seedlings of laevigata 

 crossed with the best white teas and hy- 

 brid perpetuals are again under way, but 

 are likely to perish as before. The only 

 known commercial hybrid of the Chero- 

 kee rose is Anemone, with large single 

 pink flowers. It is supposed to be a 

 blend of laevigata with a tea rose. 



Two Favorite Types, 



R. multiflora has great promise as a 

 breeder for garden roses. The type read- 

 ily produces densely double blooms of 

 good size, as a result of crossing with 

 superior garden varieties. . Crimson 

 Rambler and others of the polyantha 

 section are being widely used as seed or 

 pollen parents and with excellent results. 

 Multiflora x Persian yellow has produced 

 with us a climbing variety having buds 

 of flaming nasturtium scarlet, opening 

 into yellow double blooms, which suc- 

 cessively change to white and finally to 

 pale rose. 



R. Wichuraiana has leaped at one 

 bound to a foremost position among rose 

 species desirable for breeding. Thou- 

 sands of hybrids have been raised in all 

 rose-growing countries. Something like 

 fifty-four named varieties of Wichuraiana 

 and parentage had been put in commerce 

 by the end of 1905, and others appear 

 each season. Wichuraiana hybridizes so 

 readily that it is scarcely possible to 

 grow the species true from seeds, if other 

 roses in the vicinity bloom at the same 

 time. Its late season of flowering and 

 facility of bud propagation are all that 

 will save the type from disappearing un- 

 der cultivation. It appears to readily 

 blend with almost all species and varie- 

 ties, the hybrid blooms largely taking on 

 the characteristics of those of the pollen 

 parent, while the plant retains much of 

 Wichuraiana habit. Some of the most 

 beautiful new garden roses owe their at- 

 tractions to Wichuraiana influence. So 

 far, however, the greatest success has 

 been with direct or bi-specific hybrids. 

 Attempts to grow secondary and dilute 

 crosses, though very general, have not 

 met with conspicuous success, the off- 

 springs reverting or falling off In qual- 

 ity to a remarkable degree. There is 

 widespread desire to produce continuous 

 blooming roses of Wichuraiana character. 

 This has seldom been accomplished by 

 direct crossing, but many dwarf contin- 

 uous blooming plants result from seeds 



